]]>Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG)—an Atlanta-based, private hotel investment, ownership, and management company—this week launched its fourth lifestyle hotel—the 163-room Plunge Beach Hotel in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Fla. The upscale lifestyle hotel focuses on its custom-created food and beverage outlets, which are designed to attract guests and local alike. HVMG SVP and COO, Richard Jones, spoke with LODGING at the 2017 NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference about the group’s increased focus on the lifestyle segment, and the importance of F&B for creating a truly authentic lifestyle property.

What is significant about the new Plunge Beach Hotel?
We’re making a very strategic and intentional move to get more lifestyle properties into our portfolio. Our platform can add a lot of value for owners that are in or want to get in the lifestyle space. It’s the fastest growing segment of the business from a new property development and conversion perspective. The guests love it, and the markets are responding very well. The brands are offering all of these different options—from branded boutique like Hotel Indigos, to soft brands and pure independent properties. There’s a lot of room there to get creative and we want to be part of that.

Which brings us to Plunge. The hotel is comprised of three different buildings that sit right on the beach. Through the property’s programming and design, we’ve been able to create three distinct experiences depending on the room type and where the rooms are located. We designed three custom food and beverage and retail outlets—Backflip Beach Bar, Octopus Lobby Gastropub, and the Barnacle and Bean Coffee Shop serving locally roasted coffee, fresh sandwiches, and gelato.

What does HVMG’s portfolio makeup look like now, and where do you want it to be?
We are currently operate 33 hotels. About 80 percent are full service and our portfolio is predominately branded. We are currently operating three true lifestyle hotels—about 10 percent of the portfolio. The branded full-service hotels are the core of our business today, and they will probably be the core of our business going forward. But in the next 18 or 24 months, I’d love to see the number of true lifestyle hotels increase to a third of our portfolio. Opportunities will determine where we can take it from there.

What is HVMG’s approach to F&B?
We’ve added some talent to our team over the last year and a half specifically focused on food and beverage. We hired Garron Gore, our corporate director of food and beverage innovation. He came to us from the restaurant and bar side of the business, but with some hotel experience. We really wanted somebody approaching our F&B with a pure, independent restaurant/bar mindset. We’ve attracted culinary talent to help develop menus and the food program, and worked with a number of consultants on developing beverage programs. Garron has been leading the charge on playing a really active role on the design and the concepting of these restaurants and bars.

At Plunge, all of those outlets are conceived by, designed by, and programmed by us. We’ve been using the same approach at our other lifestyle hotels as well. For example, our most recent Hotel Indigo, the Hotel Indigo Denver Downtown, which opened in February, has a stand-alone restaurant called Hearth & Dram. Hearth & Dram represents the poster child right now for what we think we can do to deliver a really creative, locally-inspired, and locally-driven concept that will add value to the hotel experience. We conceived, led the design, and led the creation of that, too. It has a great menu, a bourbon program with 300 bourbons, an open-hearth kitchen, and a meat-heavy menu.

We approach our lifestyle properties with the mindset that the food and beverage experience is really what defines lifestyle and independent hotels. You want them to be a place with constant, steady volume where the locals want to go. You don’t want to be a typical hotel restaurant experience. F&B should put the hotel on the map more so than the hotel putting the restaurant on the map.

Is the lifestyle segment becoming saturated?
I think that the lifestyle segment is definitely going to grow. Saturated, probably not. It’s going to constantly evolve. If you ask three different people, “what’s a lifestyle hotel,” you’ll get three different answers. Everybody’s got their own kind of interpretation of it. What’s cool and hip today is not going to be a cool and hip thing in three years. So how do you change it and keep it relevant and current? I think that’s going to be a big challenge for owners from a capital or reinvestment perspective. It’s going to be a big challenge on the food and beverage front—tastes change, trends come and go, and there’s always going to be new competition coming in. I think that’s going to be something that will separate some of the winners and the losers in the long run—who can find that balance between maintaining and sustaining an operation and keeping it relevant and in a market leadership position, versus just being that flash in the pan. However, I would say that we’re more saturated with brands right now. I’m more worried about being over saturated with brands versus the lifestyle segment.

]]>http://lodgingmagazine.com/hvmg-focuses-on-fb-to-drive-lifestyle-growth/feed/0Mary Beth Cutshall’s Road to Successhttp://lodgingmagazine.com/mary-beth-cutshalls-road-to-success/
http://lodgingmagazine.com/mary-beth-cutshalls-road-to-success/#respondWed, 16 Nov 2016 15:30:53 +0000http://lodgingmagazine.com/?p=28280Caneel Bay on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands is an idyllic place to start one’s hotel career. At 19 years old, during summer break from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Mary Beth Cutshall landed a dream internship in the resort’s front office. During one shift, she would manually check guests into the resort on the boat ride from St. Thomas to a private dock on St. John. On another shift, she would greet ...

]]>Caneel Bay on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands is an idyllic place to start one’s hotel career. At 19 years old, during summer break from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Mary Beth Cutshall landed a dream internship in the resort’s front office. During one shift, she would manually check guests into the resort on the boat ride from St. Thomas to a private dock on St. John. On another shift, she would greet arrivals as they came off the boat and personally show them around the resort’s 170 acres. For her third shift, she would work at the front desk and accommodate guest requests. “It was a really great first exposure to the hotel business,” Cutshall recalls. “It hooked me.”

Cutshall felt lucky to land the internship, but it wasn’t just luck that got her there. Her family had a house in St. Thomas for many years, and she wanted to spend a summer working in a local hotel, but there wasn’t anything formally available in the Caribbean that she could identify. Cutshall had the tenacity to call and send letters to general managers, explaining what made her an ideal candidate for an internship. The GM at Caneel Bay sent a letter back saying the resort would love to have her. From this experience, Cutshall learned an important lesson: “If you want something, go for it. Figure out a way to make it happen,” she says. “And that’s how I approach my career. The sky is the limit, so why not go for it and create your own opportunity?”

The path to Cutshall’s current role as senior vice president of acquisitions and business development for HVMG, an Atlanta-based private hotel ownership and management company, was hardly a straight line. But along the way, Cutshall gained experience in various aspects of the industry, and also discovered that sometimes a step back leads to a leap forward. When her two children were young, she took a hiatus from the corporate world to become a feasibility study consultant. Once her youngest child started kindergarten, Cutshall accepted a lower-level position at Atlanta-based Hotel Equities to find her footing again. Not long after, a corporate director of business development position opened and she got the job. “That was my break in point to the transactional side of the hotel business,” Cutshall says. She spent six years with Hotel Equities, under the wing of CEO Fred Cerrone, and helped to grow the company 300 percent before joining HVMG at the vice president level. Having spent the last 12 years in the acquisition and development side of the hotel business, Cutshall feels like she has found “the right seat on the bus.”

When Cutshall joined HVMG in January 2011, the company’s portfolio revenue was about $100 million. In the five years that followed, HVMG doubled in size and brought that revenue up to more than $280 million. “We’ve been able to maintain significant growth, and through that growth I’m really proud of the strong brand partnerships and investment-grade branded and boutique hotels we have in our portfolio now,” she says.

HVMG has a growth strategy of 15 percent incremental company revenue growth, and that will continue through the pursuit of upscale full-service, premium branded, and independent boutique hotels, Cutshall says. In addition to acquiring assets and signing third-party management contracts, the company is also leveraging its development, design, and construction capabilities. “Currently we have in excess of $200 million active new construction and project management work that we’re leading,” she says.

Cutshall adds that one of the major contributors to HVMG’s financial success and healthy growth is its diverse, talented leadership. Of the 21 employees who make up the company’s senior leadership team, 11 are women. “Robert Cole is a stellar CEO and example of a leader who believes in hiring the smartest, best, and brightest regardless of gender,” she says. “His management style has always been to get the most qualified leader for a position, those who come with proven ability to perform and immediately add value. He truly values diverse perspectives, and firmly believes it leads to innovation.”

That management style has yielded a strong company culture and a well-rounded, self-driven team that goes after the right deals and closes on them. Recent accomplishments include a joint venture to acquire the Marriott Century Center in Atlanta Ga., and the Hilton Phoenix Suites in Midtown Phoenix, Ariz.; the acquisition of a Marriott and an Embassy Suites in downtown Winston Salem, N.C.; and management agreements to operate the Borrego Springs Resort & Spa in California and the Courtyard Atlanta Airport West. “The results are there—we’re excited about the year we’ve had thus far. I think it’s because we have a lot of individuals who bring a different perspective to the collective whole,” Cutshall says. “When you bring diverse intellectual talents and experiences to the decision-making process, you usually come out with a much better conclusion.”

At every stage of her career, Cutshall has valued mentors, peers, and colleagues for their counsel, encouragement, and honest feedback. “I will always be grateful for visionary leaders like Robert Cole and Fred Cerrone, who saw my potential and created a seat for me at the table,” she says. “No one gets anywhere without amazing people supporting them.” l

]]>http://lodgingmagazine.com/mary-beth-cutshalls-road-to-success/feed/0HVMG Acquires Two Hotels for $50 Millionhttp://lodgingmagazine.com/hvmg-acquires-two-hotels-for-50-million/
http://lodgingmagazine.com/hvmg-acquires-two-hotels-for-50-million/#respondMon, 08 Aug 2016 18:47:34 +0000http://lodgingmagazine.com/?p=26787ATLANTA, Ga.—Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG), an Atlanta-based, private hotel ownership and management company, has announced it has formed a joint venture with True North Management Group of White Plains, N.Y., to acquire the 282-room Marriott Century Center in Atlanta, Ga., and the 226 two-room suite Hilton Phoenix Suites in Midtown Phoenix, Ariz. HVMG will operate both hotels, bringing its portfolio to 35 operated hotels with 7,572 rooms nationwide. The deal was brokered by Atlanta-based ...

]]>ATLANTA, Ga.—Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG), an Atlanta-based, private hotel ownership and management company, has announced it has formed a joint venture with True North Management Group of White Plains, N.Y., to acquire the 282-room Marriott Century Center in Atlanta, Ga., and the 226 two-room suite Hilton Phoenix Suites in Midtown Phoenix, Ariz. HVMG will operate both hotels, bringing its portfolio to 35 operated hotels with 7,572 rooms nationwide. The deal was brokered by Atlanta-based Hunter Hotel Advisors for $50.75 million, inclusive of the hotels’ capital reserve accounts.

Each hotel will undergo a major renovation program of approximately $15 million to upgrade property exteriors, public space, back-of-house areas, and guestrooms. HVMG will oversee both renovations which are expected to begin in 2017.

“We continue to work with best-in-class partners to pursue underperforming hotels that can benefit from improved management, better operating margins, an infusion of capital investments and repositioning,” said Robert S. Cole, HVMG president and CEO. “Our management team has extensive repositioning experience and an aggressive, yet targeted, approach to maximize value creation within the full-service segment, which now accounts for more than 90 percent of our total portfolio’s revenue.

“With the addition of this joint venture, we have added three upscale hotels and resorts within the last three weeks to our rapidly growing, national hotel portfolio,” Cole added. “With approaching debt maturities as well as franchise license agreement expirations, a substantial number of hotels will likely change hands in the near future, creating additional acquisition and third-party management opportunities for proven operators. HVMG has experience in virtually all segments of the hospitality industry, from select-service to premium-branded upscale and independent boutique hotels and resorts, allowing us to move quickly and be successful in the various categories.”

]]>http://lodgingmagazine.com/hvmg-acquires-two-hotels-for-50-million/feed/0HVMG to Manage Springhill Suites in Orange Beach, Alabamahttp://lodgingmagazine.com/hvmg-to-develop-manage-springhill-suites-in-orange-beach-alabama/
http://lodgingmagazine.com/hvmg-to-develop-manage-springhill-suites-in-orange-beach-alabama/#respondWed, 29 Jul 2015 16:14:46 +0000http://lodgingmagazine.com/?p=19745ATLANTA, Ga.—Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG), an Atlanta-based, private hotel management company, has been selected by Wharf Entertainment Properties, LLC, to serve as the lead developer and operator of the planned five-story, 132-room SpringHill Suites that broke ground in June at The Wharf in Orange Beach, Ala. Located at 4763 Wharf Parkway, the hotel will be adjacent to the Orange Beach Event Center and near the Orange Beach Sportsplex. Once completed, the hotel will include ...

]]>ATLANTA, Ga.—Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG), an Atlanta-based, private hotel management company, has been selected by Wharf Entertainment Properties, LLC, to serve as the lead developer and operator of the planned five-story, 132-room SpringHill Suites that broke ground in June at The Wharf in Orange Beach, Ala.

Located at 4763 Wharf Parkway, the hotel will be adjacent to the Orange Beach Event Center and near the Orange Beach Sportsplex. Once completed, the hotel will include a destination restaurant, full-service bar, and an outdoor patio overlooking the intra-coastal waterway. Additionally, the hotel will include such amenities as approximately 3,000 square feet of meeting space, complimentary breakfast, a fitness center, and resort-style pool.

Developed in 2005, The Wharf is a mixed-use entertainment, marina, and shopping destination in Orange Beach that hosts more than 1.8 million guests per year. The property houses a 9,600-seat amphitheater and over 333,000 square feet of retail space, featuring 12 national and local restaurants, 38 retail establishments, 18 professional businesses, a 18,000-square-foot Orange Beach Event Center, full-service marina with 208 slips, 198 privately owned condominiums, a 15-screen movie theater, and a 102 foot-tall Ferris wheel. The SpringHill Suites will be the latest development to take place on the property.

“HVMG’s long history and success with Marriott brands and proven operational and development expertise made them the ideal organization to lead the SpringHill Suites at The Wharf,” said Art Favre, hotel owner. “Based on their history of successfully developing similar, ground-up hotel projects, we have complete confidence this SpringHill Suites will make The Wharf even more attractive to the million-plus travelers who visit every year.”

]]>http://lodgingmagazine.com/hvmg-to-develop-manage-springhill-suites-in-orange-beach-alabama/feed/0HVMG’s Mary Beth Cutshall on the Art and Science of Managementhttp://lodgingmagazine.com/hvmgs-mary-beth-cutshall-on-the-art-and-science-of-management/
http://lodgingmagazine.com/hvmgs-mary-beth-cutshall-on-the-art-and-science-of-management/#respondThu, 21 May 2015 15:15:42 +0000http://lodgingmagazine.com/?p=18610Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG) has been providing management solutions for hotel for 15 years. According to Mary Beth Cutshall, senior vice president, acquisitions and business development, HVMG’s success is grounded in the company’s mission to maximize value for owners and create career opportunities for HVMG associates. Where is HVMG’s growth coming from in the year ahead? HVMG’s growth will be coming from a combination of acquisitions, new development, joint ventures, and third-party management opportunities. ...

]]>Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG) has been providing management solutions for hotel for 15 years. According to Mary Beth Cutshall, senior vice president, acquisitions and business development, HVMG’s success is grounded in the company’s mission to maximize value for owners and create career opportunities for HVMG associates.

Where is HVMG’s growth coming from in the year ahead? HVMG’s growth will be coming from a combination of acquisitions, new development, joint ventures, and third-party management opportunities. Both acquisitions and new development are robust at this time in the cycle. In addition, we have new development projects in our pipeline that we are either exploring or are currently under construction in markets like Atlanta, Denver, Florida, and the Gulf Shores.

What opportunities are there in this year’s strong fundamentals? There is always an opportunity to maximize value, it just depends on the property and individual dynamics. Value creation could be driven from revenue enhancement, talent acquisitions, a new brand, or a more aggressive digital marketing strategy. When we evaluate an asset, it is very rare that we do not find something in our diagnostic process that helps us identify the ability to create more value, even when fundamentals are strong. We thrive on the challenge.

What do you feel gives HVMG a leg up over other management companies? Our ability to effectively balance driving revenue, managing excellent expense margins, and improving guest scores—there’s a science and an art to doing all three well simultaneously. I also think our company is the “right size.” We’re large enough to have all of the sophisticated tools, resources, and proven solutions and processes to deliver quantifiable results and attract top talent, but we’re not so big that innovation gets lost.

Looking through HVMG’s portfolio, there seems to be a preference for managing branded properties. Was this intentional or did it happen organically? We are very supportive of the brands. We have successful experience with all of them, but, that being said, we also have six very successful independent hotels in our portfolio with another two four-diamond, independent, boutique resorts under development. Determining our direction really depends on each opportunity and market potential. It’s all about what would be the best fit for that asset’s future success—it’s never cookie cutter.

]]>http://lodgingmagazine.com/hvmgs-mary-beth-cutshall-on-the-art-and-science-of-management/feed/0HVMG to Manage New Hotel Indigo in Denverhttp://lodgingmagazine.com/hvmg-to-manage-new-hotel-indigo-in-denver/
http://lodgingmagazine.com/hvmg-to-manage-new-hotel-indigo-in-denver/#respondTue, 28 Apr 2015 18:35:47 +0000http://lodgingmagazine.com/?p=18192ATLANTA—Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG), an Atlanta-based, private hotel ownership and management company, today announced it has signed an agreement to provide third-party management services for the recently announced ground up new development Union Tower West, a 212,000-square-foot building featuring the city’s first Hotel Indigo hotel. The hotel is being co-developed by Portman Holdings, a real estate developer with a focus on hospitality, office, and mixed-use properties, and Hensel Phelps, general contractor and construction manager. ...

]]>ATLANTA—Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG), an Atlanta-based, private hotel ownership and management company, today announced it has signed an agreement to provide third-party management services for the recently announced ground up new development Union Tower West, a 212,000-square-foot building featuring the city’s first Hotel Indigo hotel. The hotel is being co-developed by Portman Holdings, a real estate developer with a focus on hospitality, office, and mixed-use properties, and Hensel Phelps, general contractor and construction manager.

“This marks our second Hotel Indigo collaboration with Portman Holdings,” said Robert S. Cole, HVMG president and CEO. “In addition to the Denver property, which also happens to be the first Hotel Indigo in Colorado, we currently are providing pre-opening services and will manage the adaptive reuse 206-room Hotel Indigo hotel in downtown Atlanta.”

Located on Wewatta Street, adjacent to Denver’s newly redeveloped Union Station, the hotel is scheduled to open in the 2016 fourth quarter. The hotel will reside within Union Tower West, a 200,000-plus-square-foot mixed-use development of office and retail space. Upon opening, the hotel will feature approximately 1,950 square feet of meeting space, a fitness center, business center, bar, and restaurant.

“We have full confidence in [HVMG’s] ability to introduce a new brand to the Denver market and quickly ramp up the hotel, enabling it to become one of the boutique hotels of choice for visitors seeking an authentic experience with all the amenities that come with a branded hotel,” said Ambrish Baisiwala, CEO of Portman Holdings.

]]>http://lodgingmagazine.com/hvmg-to-manage-new-hotel-indigo-in-denver/feed/0HVMG to Manage Hyatt North Houstonhttp://lodgingmagazine.com/hvmg-to-manage-hyatt-north-houston/
http://lodgingmagazine.com/hvmg-to-manage-hyatt-north-houston/#respondMon, 12 Jan 2015 18:25:52 +0000http://lodgingmagazine.com/?p=16169ATLANTA—Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG), an Atlanta-based, private hotel ownership and management company, has been selected to operate the 335-room Hyatt North Houston. The hotel also has 27,000 square feet of meeting space. “This is our third hotel in Texas, as well as our fourth full-service Hyatt, which will allow the Hyatt North Houston to immediately benefit from economies of scale and shared best practices,” said Robert S. Cole, HVMG president and CEO. The eight-story ...

]]>ATLANTA—Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG), an Atlanta-based, private hotel ownership and management company, has been selected to operate the 335-room Hyatt North Houston. The hotel also has 27,000 square feet of meeting space.

“This is our third hotel in Texas, as well as our fourth full-service Hyatt, which will allow the Hyatt North Houston to immediately benefit from economies of scale and shared best practices,” said Robert S. Cole, HVMG president and CEO.

The eight-story hotel is near numerous corporate headquarters and retail offerings, George Bush Intercontinental Airport, and the Greenspoint business district. Hotel amenities include a fitness facility, a tropical-style outdoor swimming pool and spa, a business center, a gift shop, and shuttle service to and from the airport. Additionally, the property has an all-day regional cuisine restaurant, Grill 425, as well as a Starbucks.

The Hyatt North Houston is HVMG’s second deal of 2015 and expands its managed portfolio to 39 hotels and 7,529 rooms in 15 states nationwide. Four additional properties are targeted to close in the next month.

]]>http://lodgingmagazine.com/hvmg-to-manage-hyatt-north-houston/feed/0HVMG Names VP and Chief Revenue Officerhttp://lodgingmagazine.com/hvmg-names-vp-and-chief-revenue-officer/
http://lodgingmagazine.com/hvmg-names-vp-and-chief-revenue-officer/#respondThu, 04 Dec 2014 15:06:05 +0000http://lodgingmagazine.com/?p=15632ATLANTA—Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG), an Atlanta-based, privately owned hotel investment and management company, has announced that Cory Chambers has been named vice-president and chief revenue officer. In the newly created position, Chambers will provide leadership and strategic direction to HVMG’s sales & marketing, revenue management and eCommerce teams and spearhead the development and implementation of innovative revenue generation strategies, with the aspiration of fielding the best in class revenue organization in the industry. “With ...

]]>ATLANTA—Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG), an Atlanta-based, privately owned hotel investment and management company, has announced that Cory Chambers has been named vice-president and chief revenue officer. In the newly created position, Chambers will provide leadership and strategic direction to HVMG’s sales & marketing, revenue management and eCommerce teams and spearhead the development and implementation of innovative revenue generation strategies, with the aspiration of fielding the best in class revenue organization in the industry.

“With nearly 20 years’ experience in all facets of hotel revenue generation, Cory is the ideal candidate to help HVMG achieve its ultimate goal of having the best operating and revenue team in the hospitality industry,” said Richard Jones, HVMG’s senior vice president and COO. “His leadership skills, brand and market expertise, and track record of achieving meaningful, positive results in a variety of different environments will be essential for us as we work towards that goal.”

Prior to joining HVMG, Chambers held a number of leadership positions with White Lodging, most recently vice president of revenue generation, full-service division. In that role, he led the team responsible for the group sales, revenue management, eCommerce and public relations efforts of White Lodging’s extensive full-service portfolio. Previously with White, he held regional and property level positions, including corporate director of sales and marketing and director of sales & marketing for the 1,626 room JW Marriott and Marriott Place Complex in Indianapolis. Prior to joining White Lodging, Chambers worked for Marriott International as the director of sales and marketing for the New Orleans Marriott and the Boston Marriott Quincy, and prior to joining Marriott, as director of group sales for the Westin Waltham-Boston.

“HVMG has a sterling reputation as one of the leading ownership and management groups in the hotel industry,” Chambers said. “I look forward to sharing my experiences and expertise to develop future sales, marketing, and revenue management leaders and help the company achieve its vision of being the most sought after operator and partner in the industry.”

]]>http://lodgingmagazine.com/hvmg-names-vp-and-chief-revenue-officer/feed/0Hospitality Ventures Management Group Names Director of Acquisition and Business Developmenthttp://lodgingmagazine.com/hospitality-ventures-management-group-names-director-of-acquisition-and-business-development/
http://lodgingmagazine.com/hospitality-ventures-management-group-names-director-of-acquisition-and-business-development/#respondThu, 25 Sep 2014 14:17:18 +0000http://lodgingmagazine.com/?p=14269ATLANTA—Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG), an Atlanta-based, privately owned hotel ownership and management company, announced that it is adding to its real estate and business development team. Amanda Chivers has been named corporate director of acquisition and business development. Chivers will assist in identifying and acquiring existing hotels, securing third party management assignments and supporting ground-up construction projects, as well as assisting with the overall growth of owned and managed assets. “Amanda has an impressive ...

]]>ATLANTA—Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG), an Atlanta-based, privately owned hotel ownership and management company, announced that it is adding to its real estate and business development team. Amanda Chivers has been named corporate director of acquisition and business development. Chivers will assist in identifying and acquiring existing hotels, securing third party management assignments and supporting ground-up construction projects, as well as assisting with the overall growth of owned and managed assets.

“Amanda has an impressive background in asset management, acquisitions and hospitality investment, making her the ideal candidate to help HVMG execute on its strategy of aggressive, yet measured, growth,” said Mary Beth Cutshall, HVMG’s senior vice president of acquisitions and business development.“HVMG’s portfolio of owned and managed hotels has more than doubled over the past four years, and we are committed to continue this level of growth over the next three to five years with Amanda’s assistance.”

Prior to joining HVMG, Chivers was an asset manager specializing in non- or under-performing hotels with TriMont Real Estate Advisors. She also served as director of real estate transactions for Moody National Companies, where she was involved with over $1 billion in private equity investments in hospitality assets. She also is an active member of Commercial Real Estate Women, and serves as a board member and vice-president of sponsorship for the Atlanta Hospitality Alliance.

“Achieving meaningful growth through strategic acquisitions, new builds and third party management requires a broad range of skills that I’ve acquired in my past roles underwriting and conducting due diligence of hospitality real estate assets and most recently as an asset manager,” Chivers said. “I’m eager to play a role in helping shape the growth of HVMG’s expanding portfolio.”

]]>http://lodgingmagazine.com/hospitality-ventures-management-group-names-director-of-acquisition-and-business-development/feed/0Hyatt Atlanta Perimeter Grows HVMG Partnership with Hyatthttp://lodgingmagazine.com/hyatt-atlanta-perimeter-grows-hvmg-partnership-with-hyatt/
http://lodgingmagazine.com/hyatt-atlanta-perimeter-grows-hvmg-partnership-with-hyatt/#respondThu, 10 Jul 2014 13:33:36 +0000http://lodgingmagazine.com/?p=12569ATLANTA, Ga.—Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG) announced that it will operate the new Hyatt Atlanta Perimeter at Villa Christina, the first new hotel in Atlanta’s Perimeter district in more than 25 years and the company’s third full-service Hyatt hotel in the last 16 months. The 177-room Hyatt Atlanta Perimeter is located in Perimeter Summit, an 83-acre, master planned, mixed-use development, combining more than 1.3 million square feet of Class A office with luxury residential and ...

]]>ATLANTA, Ga.—Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG) announced that it will operate the new Hyatt Atlanta Perimeter at Villa Christina, the first new hotel in Atlanta’s Perimeter district in more than 25 years and the company’s third full-service Hyatt hotel in the last 16 months.

The 177-room Hyatt Atlanta Perimeter is located in Perimeter Summit, an 83-acre, master planned, mixed-use development, combining more than 1.3 million square feet of Class A office with luxury residential and numerous lifestyle amenities at one premier address. The Hyatt was strategically designed and developed to add the convenience and comforts of a four-star hotel to Villa Christina, Atlanta’s premier conference and special event venue. HVMG also will manage the Villa Christina, which is host to more than 200 weddings, meetings, and special events annually and offers expansive gardens, meeting, and conference space, ballroom, and special event facilities, recreational attractions, and fine dining.

“With the industry metrics, especially ADR, continuing to grow at historically high levels, these types of multi-dimensional projects will become more prevalent,” said Robert Cole, president and CEO of HVMG. “During and immediately following the downturn, our team was immersed in the turnaround of troubled assets. This allowed us to perfect an operational infrastructure and processes that assures success from the start, balancing revenue maximization with efficient operating margins, all while focusing on the guest experience. That discipline has put us in a position to confidently tackle complex projects with numerous and varied business drivers, like the Hyatt Atlanta Perimeter at Villa Christina.”

HVMG assumed management of the following other full-service Hyatt Hotels this past year: the 197-room Hyatt Palm Springs, Calif., and the 395-room Hyatt Regency, Albuquerque, N.M.

“Hyatt Hotels is very proud of our strategic partnership with HVMG,” said George Vizer, vice president, franchise operations North America. “Our values and cultures are well aligned, and we could not think of a better partner to represent our brand in this key new project.”

The Hyatt Atlanta Perimeter at Villa Christina features 177 rooms and suites, including bridal suites and a Lanai Terrace overlooking the gardens. The Hyatt also features Sassafras, a relaxing new lounge experience to Villa Christina’s existing dining venues, which include Cafe Christina for casual lunch and breakfast options, as well as the namesake Villa Christina, an award winning fine dining room specializing in Northern Italian cuisine. An outdoor pool deck with sweeping views of the Atlanta skyline, a state-of-the-art fitness center with private spa rooms, complimentary shuttle service, valet parking, and 24 hour business center services round out the hotel’s amenities.

The hotel is located conveniently near the Perimeter Mall and minutes from the Buckhead shopping, restaurant, and entertainment destinations. With three MARTA stops in Perimeter Center, the city’s downtown attractions, such as World of Coca-Cola, CNN Center, and the Georgia Aquarium, are a short metro ride away. The Central Perimeter also is home to UPS, Cox Enterprises, State Farm and other major corporations.